Sen. Schumer calls for mass transit employees to be checked against terror list

NEW YORK — As the city gears up for holiday travel, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) wants all rail and mass transit employees in sensitive positions to be cross-checked with the national terror watch list, similar to the way airline employees are, amNewYork reports.

“Railing for rail security is a no-brainer and we simply cannot leave our transportation arteries vulnerable to a possible terror threat. I’m urging the feds to immediately finalize this commonsense employee background check so that our nation’s railways are kept safe,” Schumer said in a press release.  

Schumer said positions like engineers, train conductors, and those maintaining the tracks on both rail lines like Amtrak as well as subways, should be checked against the watch list. He added that the 9/11 Commission Report first recommended “safety sensitive transit employees” be checked against the terror watch list, but it was never implemented. For the full story, click here.